Visit Domaine Rougeot – tasting of the red 2015s and 2016s

There are many relatively unknown estates in Burgundy, and while I do see and taste a lot of Burgundy bottles I actually never noticed Domaine Rougeot in Meursault.

Some estates have been famous and well known in previous decades … and some estates focus on specific markets – hence unknown in other markets. To me, as a writer, it’s a treasure with all these estates that are waiting to be explored – and in this case I was in for both a surprise and a treat .. and also a great visit meeting some cheerful and very nice people.

It began with a message from Pierre Henri Rougeot where he asked if I wanted to visit Domaine Rougeot on my next tour to Burgundy. Since I had a few open appointments in my schedule I did a small background check on Domaine Rougeot, and set up an appointment with Pierre Henri Rougeot within a few hours from the first contact.

To be honest the literature on Domaine Rougeot is fairly limited – so I did not know what to expect, aside from some hopefully good Meursault, and was not prepared for reds made and bottled without sulphur ….

This article will cover the red 2016s and 2015s – while the white 2015s tasted will be covered in a separate article.

A little about Domaine Rougeot

Domaine Rougeot is located in the upper and southern part of Meursault, and its a fairly large estate and it’s now under the management of the 4th and 5th generation of Rougeots in Meursault.

I was greeted by Pierre Henri Rougeot, who together with his brother and his father are running the estate today. If you find the name Pierre Henri Rougeot familiar – he is also working for Tonnellerie Vicard as Sales Manager – aside from his involvement in the family estate.

Pierre Henri was quickly joined by his brother Alexandre Rougeot who is now living in Australia running a wine business there and even their father Marc joined the tasting.

Alexandre is importing the Rougeot wines to Australia via his wine business Clos Cachet – alongside a range of other interesting Burgundy estates.

Domaine Rougeot have a nice range of vineyards – and are producing wines from the following terroirs and appellations Meursault-Charmes, Meursault Sous la Velle, Meursault Monatine, Volnay-Santenots, Pommard, Monthélie, Saint-Romain, and even the regional appellations Bourgogne Chardonnay and Bourgogne Pinot Noir.

The whites are fairly traditionally made but the reds are a bit more unconventional to say the least – as two lines of wines are made – the traditional/classic range is if not very traditional, then within the scope of normal Côte de Beaune winemaking.

The second line is much more unconventional as it’s made and bottled completely without sulphur. This new line was first introduced in 2010, and in 2015 two reds are made without sulphur the Bourgogne Rouge Les Lameroses “Sans Sulfite” and the Volnay Santenots “Sans Sulfite”.

From the 2016 vintage all the reds are so far made without sulphur, and only if needed then sulphur will be added during the vinification. Some of the wines will then be bottled without sulphur, whereas others will be bottled with sulphur to maintain the traditional line of wines.

I tasted the following wines at my visit at Domaine Rougeot:

2015 whites

Bourgogne Blanc Clos des Six Ouvrées 2015

Bourgogne Blance Les Grandes Gouttes 2015

Monthélie Les Toisiéres 2015

Saint-Romain Le Combe Bazin 2015

Meursault Charmes 2015

2015 reds

Bourgogne Les Lameroses 2015

Bourgogne Les Lameroses “Sans Sulfite” 2015

Pommard “Clos des Roses” 2015

Pommard “Le Coeur du Clos des Roses” 2015

Volnay Santenots 2015 2015

2016 reds

Passe-Tout-Grains 2016

Bourgogne Les Lameroses 2016

Pommard “Le Clos des Roses” 2016

Volnay Santenots 2016

Tasting notes for the red 2015s

The red 2015s were tasted from bottle, and it gave a nice impression of the two lineups – the Volnay Santenots “Sans Sulfite” 2015 was not tasted.

All the reds employ a high percentage of whole cluster grapes – 80 – 85% – so the traditional lineup is perhaps not quite as traditional as one would suspect. Furthermore the sulphur level is 20 – 25 mg/l of free sulphur at the bottling in the traditional wines – so on the low side.

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